On Life With God this week, Nathan speaks with Andrew Ranucci, a spiritual director and mentor in the Next Frontiers program, about transitioning from pastoring a congregation to pastoring pastors. (The final day to apply for the 2026 Cohort of Next Frontiers is Friday, October 31, 2025.)

Next Frontiers is a program that runs from January through November 2026, and is designed to help mid-career pastors thrive in congregational leadership during times of transition in ministry. The key features of the program include opportunities for reimagining our pastoral identity, fostering spiritual renewal and engaging in meaningful relationship with veteran ministers. The overarching purpose of this program is to provide resources that will sustain ministers in the “long obedience” of their profession. Learn more.

In episode 305 of Life With God, Nathan speaks with Stanley Hauerwas, a theologian with a wide and profound influence. Also joining the show is Tish Harrison Warren (who has written the foreword to a new book showcasing Hauerwas's core ideas) about how Stanley shaped her life and ministry. 

Nate talks with Terry Wildman, lead translator of the First Nations Version of the Bible, about the way that cultural translation brings the beauty and meaning of scripture to the surface for people ready to hear the good news.

Trevor Hudson joined Nathan on the Life With God podcast to discuss his latest book, In Search of God’s Will—which will be our first group-read in the Renovaré Book Club starting this Fall. 

Musician and theologian Julian Davis Reid talks with Nate on Life With God about the invitations of Scripture and Black music to receive God’s rest—and to help others rest—while living in the tension of a world where so much is still not right. 

Show Notes

The song "Nerve to be Super (For Michael)," played during the episode, is from Julian's upcoming record, Vocation, which will be out in September.

Visit juliandavisreid.com to learn more about his various offerings, to book a Notes of Rest experience, or to learn about original music releases and records (such as Notes of Rest Hymns Vol. 1 and BEHOLD with the band The JuJu Exchange).

You can also find Julian's newsletter and stay up to date with news by subscribing at juliandavisreid.substack.com.

Nathan Foster sat down with Renovaré's president, Ted Harro, to discuss bold new ministry initiatives at Renovaré that will carry the founding vision forward to a Church and a world in need of renewal. 

Producers Brian Morykon and Grace Pouch interview Nathan Foster about his role as the host of Life With God and about the podcasting medium as a place for listening and growing together.

On episode 299 of Life With God (recorded live at the RēGathering conference), professor and author Rebecca DeYoung talks with Nathan about what to do when we feel angry. 

Show Notes

Resources by Rebecca DeYoung

• Article: “How to Practice Hope”
• Essay: “Why Are You Angry?”
• Talk: “The Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath”
• Scholarly publications: Available online here 

Other related resources recommended by Rebecca

• “Praying in the Dark” by J. Todd Billings—on lament, protest, and compassionate witness as ways to express our emotions without spiraling into despair. 
• Listen to an interview with Charlotte vanOyen Witvliet (a Christian psychologist and friend of Rebecca DeYoung) on moving forward in forgiveness. 
• ​​Aquinas on the vice of wrath
• Garret Keizer, The Enigma of Anger: Essays on a Sometimes Deadly Sin 
• Josef Pieper, "The Power of Wrath" in The Four Cardinal Virtues (Notre Dame Press), 193-197. 
• Robert C. Roberts, "Peace" in Spiritual emotions: a psychology of Christian virtues (Eerdmans),  165-178. 

Venezuelan-Canadian author Paola Barrera joins Nate on Life With God to discuss her story of immigration and how it shaped her outlook on God’s kingdom.

President and CEO of American Leprosy Missions (Hope Rises International) Bill Simmons speaks with Nate about burnout and the Sabbatical experience that brought deep healing to his soul.

Show Notes

• Bill’s book: The Way of Interruption: Spiritual Practice for Organizational Life
• Read an excerpt from The Way of Interruption
• Find Bill at billsimmons.net, hoperises.org, and LinkedIn.  

Bill Simmons is President and CEO of American Leprosy Missions (soon to be Hope Rises International), part of his two-decade journey leading national and international organizations. Bill brings deep insight to the intersection of organizational leadership and spiritual formation, and is currently pursuing postgraduate studies in spiritual formation at Gordon Conwell Seminary. Bill holds a BA from the University of Tennessee. Bill and his wife Cindi live in Greenville, SC.